CHP-UCCA Lecture Series: The Mengma Archive － The Lowdown

The CHP-UCCA lecture series successfully continued on Saturday 14 March with The Mengma Archive: Helping the Dai minority protect its own cultural heritage. CHP Founder and Mengma Archive Project Manager, Mr. He Shuzhong, shared with the diverse audience the detailed back story behind the project’s idea, and also its methodology, results, and areas of improvement. Mr. He also answered questions and exchanged views with the enthusiastic audience who made their way to UCCA despite the unseasonal heavy snowfall.

The Mengma Archive is CHP’s pioneering ethnic minority cultural revitalization project, and was conducted from 2005 to 2008 in Mengma village (Meng Lian County, Yunnan). CHP’s project aim was to mobilize and assist local villagers to document their own invaluable culture, as well as restore the minority’s sense of worth. The project resulted in the bilingual Mengma Archive, which was written entirely by the local Mengma villagers.